Page 182 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 17

The Recession

(1992–1993)

‘ It’s amazing how changing your state of mind can change

everything else. ’

n 1990, alexander mann had made a profit of over half a
I million. In 1991, that figure dipped to £256,000, a decline I’d
put down to the troubles we’d had for the previous nine months.
In 1992, however, my profits were just £1475: the economy had
fallen off a cliff.
I couldn’t believe that you could work as hard as I had, absorb
that much stress, create that much energy and end up with £1475.
I knew the economy had been going through a tough time, but I
was still absolutely stunned when my accountant brought me the
end-of year-figure. I was spending more than that a year on petrol.
The recruitment industry is a mirror of the economy as a whole,
because the first thing any chief exec in trouble will do is trim his
staff bill. No new staff meant no new business for the recruitment
industry. When people resigned, they simply weren’t replaced.
Entire branches of organisations were shut down, and several tiers

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